Figure 1. LiCl promotes host resistance against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) keratitis. A: Clinical scores showed statistically significant differences in lithium chloride– (LiCl-) versus sodium chloride (NaCl)–treated corneas at 1, 3, and 5 days p.i. The horizontal lines among the open and filled dots represent the means of the indicated clinical scores. Three individual experiments were performed, each with ten animals/group/time. Data were generated from one representative experiment. Slit-lamp photographs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)–infected eyes at 5 days p.i. displayed reduced disease severity in LiCl-treated (C) versus NaCl-treated (B) mice. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to examine the histopathology of infected eyes at 5 days p.i. after treatment with LiCl (E) versus NaCl (D). Magnification=100X. Images shown are representative of three individual experiments each with three mice per group. F: Plate count assay data show that bacterial burden was decreased in infected B6 corneas at 5 days p.i. after treatment with LiCl versus NaCl. Data are the mean±standard error of the mean (SEM) and represent three individual experiments each with five corneas/group/time/assay. G: The protein levels of P-glycogen synthase kinase 3β (P-GSK3β) and β-catenin in LiCl- versus NaCl-treated B6 corneas were detected with western blot to confirm the efficacy of LiCl treatment. Data shown represent one of three individual experiments, each using five pooled corneas/time.* p<0.05; **, p<0.01.